Protection
by WoollyOne
Summary: Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange escaped from Azkaban when they found out that Bellatrix was pregnant. Ten years later, Malfoy Manor is raided by Aurors and the child is found and put to trial by the Ministry. When she is found to be innocent, she is put in a foster home with the Grangers. When Voldemort returns and attacks, Hannah is forced to fight those she once called family.
1. Chapter 1

I walk down the corridor of the carriage, looking for the right compartment, until I spy my sister chatting with a bunch of friends in Compartment 207. I slide open the door and Hermione grins, jumping up and hugging me gently.

"Long time, no see, Hannah," she whispers in my ear.

"I missed you," I whisper back, hugging her tighter.

"I missed you, too," she replies, letting go of me and turning around. "I don't think I ever told you guys, but, I have a sister. And this is Hannah, my little sister."

"Bloody hell, Hermione," a boy with flaming red hair says. "We've known you for four years and you never thought to tell us that you have a sister?"

"It just kind of, slipped my mind, Ron," Hermione says sheepishly. She can't say why she never told them about me, and she didn't want me to come to Hogwarts, but now I have to, since I'm twelve.

"Hi, Hannah," a girl with the same flaming red hair as Ron says, holding out a hand. "I'm Ginny Weasley."

"Hi, I'm Hannah Granger," I reply, taking her hand and shaking it.

Another boy steps forward. "Harry Potter," he says, shaking my hand firmly.

"Nice to meet you," I reply, stunned by meeting him.

We're all jolted as the train sets off, and we collapse on top of each other on the seats until the train reaches a steady speed and we all stand up again, dusting off our clothes. We settle down for the ride and the boys and Ginny start up a conversation about Quidditch, to which I eagerly listen. I learnt to fly when I was younger, but never actually played Quidditch, and I want to learn this year. After a few hours, the boys leave to get changed into their robes, and Hermione, Ginny and I all do the same. We put on our uniforms, and Hermione straightens my tie, before we all slip into our robes. A few minutes after we're dressed, the boys come back in and we resume our conversation, this time drifting to our families. That's a touchy subject for me, since I'm not Hermione's birth sister. Her family, to me, is more of a foster home. My real last name isn't Granger, either. It's Lestrange. My father is Rodolphus Lestrange, and my mother is Bellatrix Lestrange, the most feared Death Eater of all time. I was trained from birth to be a Death Eater, and lived with my parents at Malfoy Manor. I was even branded with the Dark Mark. When the manor was raided last year, they found me hiding in a cupboard, and I was the only person that was found there, so they took me away. The took me to the Ministry of Magic and I was put on trial because Cornelius Fudge thought I'd been a part of Death Eater activity, when in actual fact I hadn't. I'd just been trained to. After my trial, they decided to put me in a foster home, and Albus Dumbledore decided that the best place for me to go was the Granger family. None of the Death Eaters know where they live, so I'd be in no danger of being found, and he told me that Hermione was very kind and responsible and would look after me very well. Naturally I didn't want to go; I wanted to go back home to my own family, but the Ministry said I wasn't safe there, and that I'd be in trouble if I stayed there. I caused heaps of trouble when I first arrived, and I even hit Hermione once, but I've learned to like them, and I do view Hermione as a sister now. They weren't too keen on me coming to Hogwarts, but Dumbledore insisted that I'd be fine, and that he'd be able to keep a close eye on me, so the Ministry eventually agreed, which is why I'm here now.

"So, Hannah," Ginny began. "Since Hermione's never told us about you, do you want to tell us some stuff about yourself? Fill in the four years of things that Hermione should have told us?"

I was never given any details of things about myself as a Granger, things like holidays I'd been on with them and the like, but I'm pretty good at improvising on the spot, so I make up a story in a second.

"Well, I'm eleven years old, and I turn twelve over the Christmas holiday, on the 23rd of December. Hermione never told you guys about me because I've been in hospital my whole life and I only came out over the holidays."

"Why were you in hospital?" Ginny asks. "You look fine to me."

"I was in a coma for ten years," I say, unsure myself of where this is going to go. "There were complications during my birth and I didn't get enough oxygen. They all thought I was dead, but I was just in a coma. They thought I was going to be like that my entire life, so they never came to see me, but they couldn't bring themselves to turn off my life support, either. In the end they just left me there, and they told Hermione that I was dead. She never knew until the hospital phoned our parents and told them that I'd just woken up."

"Jeez, sorry Hermione," Ron says, looking down at his shoes and rubbing the back of his neck. "I take back what I said before. I-I never knew."

"That's OK Ron, I didn't know until I got back from school either."

"So why did you come to Sirius' place with us then?" Harry asks.

"You guys needed her, and I needed to get to know my parents. Besides, we're going to have the whole year to get to know each other. I just had the holidays to get to know my parents before I had to leave," I say, knowing already that Hermione's terrible at lying.

The train jerks to a halt and we step off the train and Hermione pulls me off to the side.

"I don't know where you came up with that stuff back there, but thanks, I owe you one," she says.

"I had a lot of time to think before I met you," I say quietly.

"You still aren't going to tell me anything?"

"No."

"You're going to break at some point," she warns me.

"You don't know what happened to me."

"No, I don't, and you won't tell me. But please, if you need to talk to someone, talk to me."

"I will."

"First Years, this way!" a deep voice bellows, and Hermione walks me over to the source of the sound and says goodbye to me and joins back up with her friends. I turn to the giant man who called for the first years and is now waving to Hermione and her friends. Once all the first years have assembled around this man who appears to be a giant, though a small one, he leads us over to the lake and helps us get into the fifty or so small wooden boats at the shore. I don't know the names of the people I'm in a boat with, and I don't ask, just watch as the huge castle looms in the distance. We reach the shore on the other side pretty quickly and get out, then walk up to the castle doors, where we're greeted by Professor McGonagall. She gives us a lecture on what's about to happen and then we're being walked into the Great Hall through all the tables until we've reached the front of the Hall, and the sorting begins. I watch as about sixty other people go before me, and then Professor McGonagall is calling my name.

"Hannah Granger," she calls, beckoning me forward and placing the Sorting Hat on my head once I've sat down on the stool. It's silent for a moment until I hear the voice of the Hat in my mind.

"So, Hannah," it begins. "You really should be in Slytherin, you know. It's in your blood and you know it. But your 'sister' is in Gryffindor. Hm, what a perplexing situation; Slytherin or Gryffindor? I suppose I do have to listen to what you have to say, though, don't I?"

'_They put me through hell,'_ I think to myself, hoping the Sorting Hat will listen to me. _'I don't want to be in Slytherin. I don't want to make them proud. I want to be in Gryffindor like Hermione'_

"Well I guess I'm going to have to listen to you. You would be great in Slytherin, and your real family would be ever so proud of you."

'_I don't want them to be proud of me. I want Hermione to be proud of me. She treats me right. She gives me everything they never did.'_

"Alright then, but you would be a lot better off in Slytherin." It sighed before continuing. "Gryffindor!"

I look around and see Hermione sitting at a table cheering for me, and I jump up off the stool and run over to her and she stands up and hugs me.

"I'm still not telling you."


	2. Chapter 2

After we've eaten, Professor Dumbledore tells us the rules and then dismisses us, and we're taken up to our dormitories by the Prefects. We're about halfway up the stairs before I feel a cold hand grasp my wrist and I turn around to see Draco Malfoy staring at me incredulously. Because I lived at Malfoy Manor with my parents and my mother's sister is Narcissa Malfoy, I saw a lot of Draco during my childhood.

"Hannah?" he hisses. "What are you doing here?"

"Learning to control my magic, the same as you would be," I reply in a voice laced with anger.

"So you're a Granger now, huh?"

"Who I am now is nothing to you, cousin."

"I think it is," he replies dangerously. "You see, my Aunt Bella has been looking for you."

"No Draco, you wouldn't," I say, eyes growing wide in fear.

"Oh yes, I would. I really ought to tell her that you're here and that you're living with the Mudblood, Granger."

"Leave Hermione out of this, she knows nothing."

"You mean you never told her?"

"I swore I wouldn't, Draco."

"It's not just your mother looking for you; He's looking for you, too."

"Why? What does he want with me?"

Draco grabs the left sleeve of my robes and pulls it up, revealing the red mark on my forearm.

"That's why. You're branded as his and he wants you back. If he finds out that I've been lying to him, he'll kill me."

"How would you have been lying to him?" I ask sceptically.

"I promised him that I would tell him if I saw you."

"I can't go back there, Draco," I say, pulling up the other sleeve of my robes. "Not after everything she put me through."

He gasps as he takes in the sight before him, of my entire arm covered in scars. Scars my own mother gave me when I was four years old.

"She did this?"

"Yes, so just forget that you saw me, and we can both pretend that nothing happened."

He says nothing, just glares at me before storming away silently. I run and catch up to the rest of the group and go to the dormitory. We reach the top of the stairs and the Prefect tells all of us the password to get into the Common Room and he says it to the Fat Lady's portrait and lets us in. Everybody oohs and aahs when we walk in, and then one of the girl Prefects takes us up to our dorm. Our trunks are already in the dorm at the ends of the beds, and the Prefect leaves us to unpack and get to know each other. There are ten other girls in the dorm, and I learn the names of a few of them, but unpack quickly and take off my uniform, putting on the cloths I wore on the train; faded blue skinny jeans with ripped open knees and slashes down the length of them, a tight, black, muscle shirt with ripped-off sleeves and ripped black gloves. I go back down to the Common Room and see Hermione sitting in an armchair in front of the fire. She smiles as I come down the stairs and makes room in the huge plush armchair for both of us. I sit down with her and she braids my hair while we wait for some other people to come down.

"Why can't you tell me what happened to you?" she asks me suddenly.

"I just can't," I sigh. "It would put both of us in danger."

"I'm friends with Harry Potter," she laughs. "I'm always in danger."

"Not like this," I say, turning to look at her. "This could get you killed."

"I nearly got killed in my first year here; I think I can handle whatever you tell me."

"This is too big for you, Hermione."

"What, but everything's fine for you?"

"No, it isn't fine for me, but I have to live with it. You don't."

"You're going to slip up somewhere, and I'm going to find out."

"I just can't tell you right now, Hermione," I whisper. "Maybe in a few years, but not right now. Just trust me."

"Fine then. But just remember that I'm here for you."

"I will," I say, and she hugs me gently before we hear Ginny coming down the stairs, along with the boys. They plonk themselves down on the couches and we start talking about the upcoming Quidditch season. Hermione doesn't like flying so she won't be trying out; Harry has a pretty much guaranteed spot on the team; Ron's trying out for Keeper, and Ginny's trying out for Chaser.

"Are you going to try out for the team?" Harry asks me.

"I'm a Muggle-Born, Harry," I say. "I didn't know I was a witch until I woke up. I've never flown before, let alone played Quidditch."

"So I guess you don't support the Chudley Cannons?" Ron asks hopefully.

"The what?" I say, even though I know perfectly well what they are. I still have to stick to my story to keep both Hermione and I safe.

One of the prefects comes in then, holding a rolled up piece of parchment tied with a crimson ribbon.

"Hannah?" he says, surveying our group.

"That's me," I say warily.

He hands me the parchment. "For you, from Professor Dumbledore."

"Thankyou."

He walks up to his own dormitory as I open the parchment and read it silently.

"What is it?" Hermione asks with a worried expression on her face.

"Dumbledore wants to see me in his office immediately."

"Does it say why?" Ginny asks.

"No, it just says that I need to go now."

I stand and leave, walking quickly to the Headmaster's office and ascending the staircase. I reach the door and knock four times; entering once I hear his voice telling me to do so. I sit in the seat he conjures for me in front of his desk and he studies me for a moment.

"I trust you're settling in well?" he finally asks.

"Yes, thankyou."

"Now that we have the nice things out of the way, we need to talk about the serious matters at hand."

"What would they be, Sir?"

"What is the story of your life before you came to Hogwarts? What did you say to your friends? About things you did with the Grangers as a young child?"

"I said that I was in hospital in a coma for my whole life and woke up just over the holidays and that Hermione believed I was dead, which is why she never mentioned me to anybody."

"Very good, you've made sure that there aren't any holes in the story."

"Thankyou Sir."

"There is another matter I wish to discuss with you though," he says, suddenly very serious.

"And what's that, Sir?"

"Voldemort has returned, and the Death Eaters are slowly regaining their ranks once more. That means that your mother is now at large again."

"I'm not sure I'm following you, Sir."

"Now that she is active once more, it means that she could find you."

"I don't want to go back there, I can't go back there," I say, tears starting to well in my eyes.

"Hannah, we are here to protect you. I placed you in Miss Granger's care because she is remarkably skilled, and she is capable of protecting you. You just have to trust those closest to you. I did vouch for you with a reason, you know."

"I understand, Sir."

"Before you go, I have something for you." From a drawer in his desk, he produces something unfamiliar to me. He hands it to me and I eye it carefully, not sure of its purpose. "It is a sleeve to cover your arm. Your left arm. Nobody can see it."

I understand he means to cover my Dark Mark, and I nod, leaving as he motions for me to exit. I go back to the common room and the Fat Lady lets me in, and I hear the others talking about Umbridge.

"The Ministry's interfering at Hogwarts," Hermione says dejectedly to the others as I walk in.

We talk for about another hour before we go up to bed, and I put on the sleeve Dumbledore gave me when the others aren't looking. I slip into a magenta crop top and three quarter tights and slide into bed. The other girls start gossiping, but I ignore it and try to go to sleep, but the girls keep asking me questions. I ignore them until they ask me what I think of the stories about You-Know-Who.

"He's real," I say shortly.

"How do you know?" one of the girls asks.

'_Because I've met him,"_ I think.

"Because I just know," I say groggily, before rolling over to sleep.

Once they think I'm asleep, they start talking about me, and they say I'm a bit strange and hot-tempered. I clench my fists, but ignore them, finally falling asleep.

"There's something not right about her."


End file.
